


In Numbered days

by Secondhandpianist



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2694566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secondhandpianist/pseuds/Secondhandpianist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the start of the summer holidays, and Leon has moved from Hong Kong with his family so that Yao can be with his long term partner in England. Arthur owns a tea lounge that Emil frequents, and the two boys begin to get very close.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lucky Streak

Another fanfiction, yes I know, I should be updating the ones that I'm in the middle of, but I just got this crazy cool idea, and I want to write the story for it, because in less than a week, I think I pretty much created its entire plot. And so, because of that, I really, really need to start writing it.

It'd been a week since Leon had moved to England. He moved here with his older sister, and younger brother, and his father. He'd been living in Hong Kong with them for a long time, but Arthur, Yao's partner, decided that he couldn't handle the distance, and he'd been saving to buy the property over his tea lounge, and so he invited them to stay.

Yao would have been hesitant, but Leon had only recently been out of hospital due to a cold developing into a chest infection, developing into pneumonia. The city air had been affecting him badly, and so he thought it would not just be in the interest of his relationship to move, but also his children's health.

Leon had decided, along with Mei, to help in the tea lounge, as they both wanted the money. Yong, however, decided he wanted to spend his entire summer on his computer, because he didn't want to miss various tournaments.

He was leaning against the counter when the white haired boy walked in. He was tallish, and a little surly looking, but Leon was instantly smitten. Of course it wasn't love, but good god it was something. Leon walked over to him, notebook and pencil in hand "Can I take your order?" he asked. He'd rehearsed this line a few times, as English wasn't really his favourite language.

"I'll just have my usual." He said casually, looking up at Leon and noticing his hesitation. Of course, he'd not seen this person here before, they must have been new "Coffee, with whipped cream." He told him "You could put some marshmallows in there if you like… no big deal though." He said.

Leon could have swooned. This guy was adorable. It was so obvious he was trying hard to be mature and cool, but oh gosh he wasn't and it was the cutest thing "One coffee, with whip and marshmallow…" Leon said to himself mainly, writing the order down carefully. He disliked writing orders in English, but Yao and Arthur both said that he'd be better off to do it.

"Yeah, that's right." He said, opening up his laptop absentmindedly.

Leon nodded and walked away, back to Mei who was at the counter, currently just wiping it clean, unsure of what else to do, as there were no new customers to serve, or tables to clear "Did you see the guy at table 5?" he asked, switching to speak Chinese, more comfortable conversing in it "I might need my inhaler, because he took my breath away~" he said, leaning against the counter.

"Ugh, you're disgusting when you're in love…" she said, joking slightly.

"No, but seriously, I need my inhaler, where did I put it down last?" he told her after a moment. Leon just so happened to be the youngest diagnosed sufferer of emphysema. According to doctors, one of his genetic parents must have had the defective gene he also carried, making it more of a risk at a young age, and that mixed with breathing in a lot of the city air, caused him to have the lungs of an old man.

"Dork…" she laughed at him a little "It's by the coffee maker." She said "Would it kill you to just, oh I don't know, leave it in your pocket?"

Leon walked around to pick it up and take it. He tucked it into his trouser pocket after "But it sticks out funny, look." He said, pointing at it.

"Oh no~" she begun sarcastically "Who cares about being hospitalized when your inhaler sticks out of your jeans~"

"You're just mean." He said. He decided to accidentally just make the boy on table 5 a hot chocolate, and even put a little chocolate stirrer in there, to make it better. If he complained, he'd make a coffee, but really it sounded like he wanted a hot chocolate anyway.

Leon walked over to him, hoping to speak with him more, but not even sure what to say to him. He put the 'coffee' down on the table "I put chocolate stirrer for you." He said, pointing at it "I thought you might like."

"Yeah, sounds cool." He nodded "My name's Emil, by the way, which you should remember, because I come here a lot." He said.

"Emil…" Leon said, more to himself, than Emil, seeing how his name felt to say.

Emil nodded "Yeah, I'd ask your name, but you have a badge. Hello, Leon." He said with a slight smirk to the Asian boy.

"Yes, hello." he said. He couldn't tell if Emil was flirting or not, because people didn't really flirt with him ever. Leon missed a lot of school, and when he was in, usually he was just sat at the back of the class, coughing or wheezing, and no-one really seemed to want to date the scrawny boy who was always sick.

"Ooh, real smooth~" Emil said with a slight laugh "You sound Chinese?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, I am moving here last week." Leon told him.

Emil nodded, wondering if it would be creepy to ask him when he got off work, because this guy seemed pretty cute, and he'd been watching him idly when he was talking to the girl at the counter, and it was pretty obvious.

"Hey, when do you get off work?" He asked, deciding to just shoot him the question.

Leon hesitated for a moment, bouncing on his toes slightly "I-I will check." He said, quickly rushing over to Mei "Mei Mei Mei Mei Mei, when do I finish work?" he asked, breathlessly.

"Um… in half an hour?" she said "Calm down, you're gonna cough all over the customers if you keep that up." She told him, as he took his inhaler again.

"Kay, thanks." He said, walking back "I finish in the half hour." He said, leaning against the table, trying to look cool.

"Well, I might stick around then~" Emil said, smiling a little at him "Perhaps you want to come over to my place or something." He said.

Leon nodded, not sure what to say, just wheezing gently and staring at him "Yes. Yes that sound good." He said after a moment.

Emil nodded, smirking to himself. This guy was adorable "Okay then. I'll just wait here until you're done working. This hot chocolate will last me." Leon nodded and walked away, back to the counter where Mei was.

He didn't end up doing much for that half hour. Mei put him in charge of the till, because she thought he looked out of breath. Not many customers came to him anyway, so he spent a majority of the time just soaking up the atmosphere.

People watching was one of Leon's favourite things to do. He never had that many friends, so it was a good thing he enjoyed it too. People would walk in and out, and talk and laugh and eat and drink and it was nice. The tea lounge was a good size too; it was filled with plush sofas, armchairs and stools at dark wooden tables of varying sizes. At that moment, it was relatively full. The time was about three o'clock, and it was in the summer holidays, and so there were a fair few students there.

The air smelled of coffee and cake, and it was wonderful. Leon could have spent hours just sitting there, sipping the tea Mei brought to him, watching people walking in and out, and occasionally taking their bills. He spent half his time watching Emil though. It looked like he was playing a computer game, but Leon couldn't see the screen, so he didn't know what the game really was. He wondered why he came here just for 'coffee' and to play video games. Perhaps he had trouble at home, or just liked coffee shops, like Leon was growing to.

When the half hour was up, Leon walked over to Emil "My shift is over." He told him, clearing his throat "Should we go then?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll just put my stuff away." Emil said, closing his laptop and putting it in his bag, before standing up to leave, and slinging his rucksack onto his back.

The two of them started to walk out of the lounge and towards Emil's house. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Leon was getting out of breath. He didn't want to make Emil stop, but he was starting to get a little light headed, and he really needed a minute to lean against something.

"You okay there?" Emil asked, noticing Leon's wheezing and slower walking.

"Yeah…" he said, stopping, and leaning against the wall of the building to his left "I get tired…" he said, breathlessly. He felt a little colour rise in his cheeks; this kind of thing was always really embarrassing, because people would always worry so much, and treat him like he was made of glass afterwards, and he all he wanted to was to be treated normally by people.

"That's some really bad asthma…" Emil said with a short laugh, trying to make light of the situation and not panic that's they'd walked a maximum of 300 yards, and that shouldn't have been exhausting.

"Emphysema…" Leon corrected him, looking away, still getting his breath back "I have old man lungs." He told Emil "Youngest diagnosed person with it is me." He said, with a slightly bitter laugh.

"Oh hey… I think my grandpa has that?" Emil suggested, not really sure what it was, but knew that it probably wasn't good "Are you okay anyway?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just need my inhaler." He said, fumbling in his pocket. He was planning on being cool and not needing it, but if he didn't take it then, he'd probably end up blacking out. Leon pulled his inhaler out of his pocket and took it, before leaning away from the wall "Let's keep going."

"You sure?" Emil said, looking doubtful "You look kind of… peaky…" he said "I can take you back…" he suggested, feeling kind of bad for inviting him out now.

"No, no, I'm sick of not doing things." He said "Just like… give me your hand… I need to lean on you a bit…"

"No homo…" Emil said, offering him his hand. Leon took his hand, not really understanding what he just said, and started walking again. Emil felt a bit awkward holding his hand; not because he didn't want to, just because he didn't know if Leon even wanted him to for the same reason. To be honest, he was concerned, but he was trying not to look it, as constantly having people being concerned must have been really quite irritating.

Eventually they reached Emil's house "I live here with my brother." He said "So it's pretty small. Hasn't even got a second floor or anything." He fumbled in his pockets for a moment, before plucking out his keys and unlocking the door.

Walking into the bungalow, Leon thought it smelt vaguely of butter, coffee and fish, and that it was very neat. The walls were a calming light blue colour, and the carpet looked soft and relatively new. Some of the sideboards had figurines of puffins, or whales, or other china figurines on them.

Leon took off his shoes, following suit, as Emil had taken his off first, and followed him across the hall to a bedroom that he assumed was Emil's. There was a bed on the far side of the room, by the window, with plain sheets, and blue drapes. There was a computer on a desk on the left side, and a wardrobe on the right. The desk had a few used mugs on it, and a few empty sweet wrappers.

"Well, this is home." Emil said, flopping onto his bed.

"You have a nice house." Leon said, sitting beside him, glad to sit down again. His legs were really aching now. He'd probably call Yao to pick him up in the car, even though really for anyone else, it was perfectly good walking distance from his home.

"Thanks, my parents are paying for it." Emil told him "They live back in Norway, but Lukas wanted to come to England to study, and they thought that I'd be better off at school here, because England's more well-known than Norway, and saying "I went to a university in London, sounds better than saying I went to university in Oslo."

"Where's Oslo?" Leon asked, feeling kind of stupid "Or… Norway…" he said "I am not English as my first language." Leon told him awkwardly, knowing that he probably needed to work on his English. Sometimes he was fine, but at other times, he had trouble making whole sentences.

"Oh boy…" Emil said, with a slight sigh "I kind of guessed anyway, and uh, Norway is… You got google maps on your phone?" he asked, not sure of any other way to show him.

Leon nodded and got it open. All the writing was in Chinese, which made Emil groan in a little exasperation. He leant against Leon, reaching a hand over to the phone in his lap, dragging the map, feeling Leon's warmth against him, and his harsh bones. He dragged the map, to show Norway, and pointed at it. "That's Norway." He said, and zoomed in a little "And this place here, this is Oslo."

Leon nodded, zooming the map out, his finger brushing against Emil's gently. He liked the feeling of the other, almost draped over him. It was comforting somehow, and nice to have someone who wasn't in his family, be comfortable enough to lean against him without fear of breaking him. He nodded to himself, so that was where it was "I was living in Hong Kong." He told Emil "Moving here last week."

"Yeah, you said, I think." Emil said, nodding "Did you like it there?"

"I guess?" he said, shrugging "I am ill a lot, so I don't go outside so much." He told Emil "More when I am younger. I am playing out in the smog without a mask."

"That sounds kind of stupid." Emil said, patting his back awkwardly "But like… tell me what you do know, I mean you've got to have seen more of the city than I have."

"Okay…" he said thinking "There are lots of people," He started "and it's always bright, even at night. All the buildings are very tall, and there's a Disneyland on the way to the airport. Oh, also there was a big duck on the water a while ago." He said, that being all he could think of at the time.

Emil nodded "Yeah, I think I heard of the duck." He said "I didn't know about the Disneyland though." he said, sounding suitably impressed "I guess there are a lot of tourists too?"

"Yeah; they have cameras, and are loud." He said, nodding.

"So like… why did you move over here? Just wondering and stuff." Emil asked, hoping to seem interested, and not seem like he was prying.

"Ba didn't want to for a while, and told Dad that he was staying for work." Leon started "But then I got sick, and after I came out of hospital, he said he wanted to get away from the city."

"So your Ba's like your mum? Why did they live so far apart?"

"No, no Ba is Chinese for Dad. I have two." He said "I'm adopted, like Mei and Yong." Leon told him "They meet at a thing; I can't remember, but they both need to stay living where they are. Dad has tea lounge, and Ba had his job."

"Oh, right, fair enough, fair enough." He said. What was the casual way to bring up 'are you gay?' in conversation. At least he knew he wouldn't have a problem with homosexuality, which was indeed a relief.

"Are you starting collage this term?" Emil asked curiously, wondering if they were the same age.

"I think so, yes?" Leon answered slightly unsurely "I'm taking Maths and Business." He told him.

"Only two subjects?" Emil asked dubiously. Most people took three as a minimum.

"Yeah… I am missing a lot of school." He said "And so Ba said only take two, but get good marks."

"Fair enough, fair enough." Emil nodded, still leaning against him, not sure if he should have moved, or just stayed there. Leon didn't seem to mind, so he just continued to lean against him "I'm taking Biology, Art and Maths." He told him "So I might see you in class and stuff."

"That'd be cool." Leon said, with a slight smile "I am like friends." He said "Most people are kind of scared to touch me before…" he said awkwardly "They thinking I would like… break or something, or give them what I have. It's isn't contagious though." Leon told him "Genetic and stuff."

"That sounds like it sucks." Emil said "You seem like a cool guy, so those people were just missing out and stuff, y'know?"

"Yeah, that's what Ba says." Leon told him, nodding "You are very nice for having me in your house."

"Yeah, well, I could see you giving me the eyes from the counter~" Emil told him, nudging his side a little "Like what you see?"

Leon blushed slightly "Ah yes, I like watching people." He said "Are you… flirting?" he asked, not sure if he was or not. It was really hard to judge these things when he didn't have much life experience with it.

"Only if you want me to be?" Emil said, slightly cautiously "Do you want me to flirt with you?" he asked.

"I-I don't mind." He said "I just I am no experience." He told him "So you have to say."

"Well then yes, I am flirting with you." Emil told him, this time a little more certainly "Do I have to do all the work, or are you going to hit on be back?" he asked after a moment.

"Um…" he said, trying to think of something to say "You have eyes…" he said "And they are nice?" Leon gave him a slightly awkward smile.

"Nah, that's not gonna cut it, try again~" Emil smirked, enjoying this a little. It was fun to watch Leon struggle a little, and joke, and he figured, Leon'd probably enjoy being treated like a person and not an illness by someone other than a family member.

"Okay… do you come here often?" he tried.

Emil laughed for a moment "Yes, I do, this happens to be my house, try again~ I'm not swooning yet~"

Leon smiled a little to himself "Have you seen my inhaler, because you take my breath away~" he said, trying to mimic Emil's tone. Emil smiled at that, thinking it was good enough.

"Yeah, that'll do~" he said, pecking him on the cheek quickly, hoping for a good response.

Leon wasn't sure what he was meant to do, so he just pecked Emil back on the cheek, hoping that that was what he was meant to do. He'd never even had anyone be interested in him, and although he had friends, he didn't see much of them, and it was always awkward, so this was really nice.

Emil smiled a little more "We could kiss properly, you know…" he said, his face heating up a little. Maybe he was rushing it with this guy, but he just seemed really nice, and he was cute, if a little scrawny.

Leon's eyes widened a little "Well… if you want to… I mean… are you wanting dating?" he asked with a little uncertainty "Or is this just what you do?"

Emil looked puzzled for a moment "Oh, yeah, dating's cool." He said "Nah, I just thought you seemed interested, and you seem pretty cute."

"I'm not cute… I'm manly." Leon said, laughing slightly at the fact that he certainly wasn't manly in any sense of the word, other than owning a penis.

"Oh sure, and I'm a world famous wrestler~" Emil joked "So is this some kind of weird, round-about way of asking me out?"

"For dating?" Leon asked, making sure he got the meaning right. Suddenly he felt incredibly self-conscious. Was he meant to be doing something else? Was he doing everything right? Was he breathing too quickly? Did his breath smell? Emil was still draping himself over him, and what was he meant to do? Leon didn't know if he was meant to be kissing him, or flirting more, or hugging him, or any of the other possibilities.

"For dating, yes." Emil told him, looking him in the eye, turning Leon's head to look at him better, their faces close enough together to feel the other's breath "Do you want to kiss?" he asked, wanting to make sure he didn't surprise him.

"I have no problem." He said "I am not experience though." He said "Not sure what to do really."

"Just… let me take the lead then." Emil told him, kissing him on the lips softly, hoping Leon would catch on.

The kiss was wet, in Leon's opinion, and he wasn't really sure what to do. He shifted to face Emil better, and closed his eyes, because Emil's eyes were closed, and so maybe that was what he was meant to do as well. After a little while, Leon was starting to get more used to it, kissing Emil with a little more effort than letting him do all the work.

Leon broke the kiss reluctantly, because he needed to breathe "One sec…" he said, slightly breathlessly.

"No worries…" Emil told him. His hands had found their way to Leon's waist, and he was a little concerned at how little there was of it, but he didn't comment. Generally on a list of things to do to make someone happy, pointing out their physical flaws was not one of them.

Leon moved in to kissing him again, once he'd gotten his breath back. He shuffled closer to Emil, looping his arms around his shoulders. Something about this just felt right, he thought to himself; there was something inherently wonderful about kissing this boy. He wanted to press himself against Emil's warm body, feel Emil's mouth on his neck, and this feeling was so alien, yet so pleasant, and he didn't want it to end.

However, as like life, all good things come to an end, and he had to break the kiss again "I really like kissing you." Leon told him breathlessly, his hands sliding down Emil's sides, and trailing one hand back to get his inhaler "Too cool…" he mumbled, colour in his cheeks as he took it "Can we lay down?" he asked, just wanting to lay down, curled up into Emil's soft warmth.

"Uh, yeah, sure." He said, nodding and laying back on the bed, patting the bit of bed beside him invitingly, turning onto his side to face him. Leon laid beside him, moving close and burying his face into his chest, winding an arm around him "You're too cute to live…" Emil mumbled, putting an arm around him, resting it on Leon's head, stroking his hair through his fingers.

"Nah, I'm a manly man…" Leon mumbled into his chest. He was the kind of person to, if given the opportunity, let himself be babied. Obviously he wouldn't to everyone, but it the opportunity occurred, he didn't mind. Emil seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't mind; true, he wouldn't mollycoddle him the way Yao did, but he didn't really expect him to anyway.

"Just… don't fall asleep on me." Emil said, petting his hair "Do you do this with everyone that kisses you?"

"I guess?" he said "You'd be the first anywhere… way." Leon said contently

And that's the end of the first chapter! Please review it, because I really do appreciate every one that I get! I have an entire plot ready for this fic, and so I'm hoping this'll be a good story~

QUESTION TIME! (Seriously if you answer these, my day will be more than made.)

Why does Emil go to the tea lounge so often anyway?

What will Arthur and Yao think of the relationship?

What are your weather predictions for this summer?

What should their first date be?

Will Leon ever get better at English?


	2. Mistakes

It's been far too long since I last updated this story, which is annoying! I'm going to try to update more quickly, but I'm sorry if I don't! I have the plot for this story completely thought out, so hopefully I'll just be able to write lots of chapters and stuff! This chapter ends up being pretty dramatic~

Although Emil specifically requested that Leon not fall asleep on him, apparently that's exactly what happened, the Asian boy, snoring gently, beside him on the bed. Emil took the time to look at him, like really look at him. Leon's hair soft and silky looking, half over his sleeping face, strands reflecting the light given out by his lamp. His skin looked like it'd been tanned but paled over time, probably from being indoors a lot. His lips were a little chapped; Emil made a mental note to get him a glass of water when he woke up.

Emil found it a little difficult not to notice how bony Leon was, his cheekbones protruding a little, and his collarbones showing more than was probably healthy. It was hard not to notice his chest wheezing, and the general labour in his breathing. Still, Emil thought, it wasn't really his place to do anything about it. It wasn't Leon's fault, and he couldn't help those things, or fix them in under five minutes. Emil didn't really feel sleepy, maybe it was all the sugar in his hot chocolate, but all he could do was watch the other sleep. He didn't want to move, because he was worried to wake him. Leon's arms were holding onto him, which although he could get out of them, he didn't want to wake him. The bags under Leon's eyes said he was tired.

Eventually, he did wake up, blinking and squinting in the light, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands "I think I sleep…" he mumbled, yawning.

"Yeah, even though I told you not to~" Emil joked, ruffling his hair gently "Hey, I'll go get some water or something." The Icelander sat up, a slight smile on his face.

"Sounds good." Leon said, nodding, staying laid down on the other's bed, watching him as he stood up and padded out of the room. There was a part of Leon what wondered why on earth someone like Emil would like someone like him anyway, and what the other possibly had to gain from this.

Emil padded into the kitchen, seeing Lukas also in there "Hey there, Lukas." Emil nodded at his brother getting a couple of glasses from the cabinet.

"Don't worry, Emil, I'm not thirsty, I just had some coffee." Lukas commented, noticing the second glass, as he finished his coffee in one last sip.

"It's not for you anyway." Emil told him, pouting "I have a friend over."

"A friend?" Lukas questioned "Finally!"

"Oh my god, stop making it sound like I've never made friends before, Lukas…" Emil grumbled, filling the glasses with water.

"Lars doesn't count, Emil." Lukas said, frowning a little "And you know I don't like you talking to him."

"I know, I know…" he sighed. Emil and Lars had been together at one point; when Lukas found out, he was furious. Lars was a lot older than Emil at the time, and he was disgusted by it "Leon is my age anyway, so don't get your kickers in a twist." Emil huffed.

"That's good." Lukas nodded "Just remember to use protection, little brother."

"I'm not sleeping with him, jeez!" Emil exclaimed, his face heating up "We only just met, and I learned that lesson the first time!"

"That was not a fun doctor's visit."

"No, it was not, let's stop talking about it. I learned my lesson; I'm being careful." Emil huffed "And who's to say that I even think of him like that?"

"I just know these things, Emil. Anyway, you have fun with your friend." Lukas walked out of the kitchen to watch some television, or read a book, either way Emil didn't really care.

He walked back to his room with the water, seeing Leon now sitting up on his bed, leaning against the headboard "I got water." He said, sitting beside the Asian boy.

Leon took the water he was handed "Thank." He nodded, taking a sip, letting the cool liquid fill his mouth and flow down his throat, refreshing him. He took a moment to dig in his pocket and bring out his phone "I should like… check time." Leon told him, unlocking the screen and looking at the time display "Damn… I should home…" he said, frowning a little "You can come tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. I go to the tea lounge a lot." Emil nodded "Gets me out of the house, and the coffee's cheap."

Leon smirked a little, because the coffee was hot chocolate, and he thought it was adorable that Emil couldn't even tell the difference, and honestly believed he was drinking coffee "I should call Ba…" Leon said after a moment "To pick me up."

Emil frowned a little. He didn't mean to, but the distance between his house, and Leon's was small, and anyone else could walk it easily "Yeah, good idea." He said, nodding.

"Cool stuff." Leon said, finding Yao in his contacts, and calling him. He spoke to the Chinese man in Cantonese meaning that Emil didn't have a clue as to what he was saying, but to be honest, unless he was paying close attention, English was hard to get his head around. Eventually he hung up the phone "Ba is here soon." He said, nodding.

"So… you want a kiss goodbye or something?" Emil suggested, feeling like that was the thing he was meant to do.

"Sure, why not?" Leon smiled a little, sipping his water again, before putting it down on the bedside table, leaning towards Emil, and closing his eyes.

Emil's lips were soft, and Leon liked that. It started out slow and tentative, slowly gaining depth and enthusiasm. It was wet, and heated, and felt good. He could feel Emil's hands sliding up his sides, smoothing up his t-shirt. Leon decided to put his hands on Emil's waist, so his hands were doing something, but to be honest, he didn't know what he was doing as much as Emil did.

After a few moments, Leon broke the kiss again, slightly out of breath, reaching for his inhaler, to take it quickly. As much as he wanted to be cool, and suave, Leon just wasn't. Nothing about him was cool, or suave, or even borderline cool or suave.

Lukas walked into the room after a moment "Hey, some guy's at the door asking for Leon?" he paused for a moment before gesturing towards the Asian boy "And I'm gonna assume that you are Leon?"

Leon nodded "Yeah, that's me." Before standing up, and making sure his hair was a bit less of a mess from sleeping, before walking out of the room, followed by Emil, followed by Lukas.

At this point Leon and Yao started talking to each other in Cantonese, and so Emil and Lukas were completely clueless as to what was being said. After a moment, Leon turned to look at Emil again "I'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

Emil nodded "Yeah, I'll come into the shop."

"See you then." Leon walked out with Yao, to the car parked outside, getting in and taking his inhaler. Emil could see them talking, but didn't know what on earth they were talking about.

"He's a bit scrawny, isn't he?" Lukas commented, as he watched the car drive away "I thought you were into y'know, more muscular guys."

"I don't have a type like you do, Lukas, I just like who I like, and seriously, we're just friends."

"Yeah, and that's why he was just sleeping on your bed, all hugging you.

"You knew and then played dumb!?"

"Well duh."

"Oh my God, you're an actual dick! Like a real life penis!"

"Yeah yeah, I know, I'm so terrible~"

They continued 'arguing' for a while. They weren't really fighting. This was just their weird way of showing affection to each other, because the both of them were bad at saying things like 'I love you' so they'd just insult each other, and argue.

"So when are you going out tomorrow?" Lukas asked, after they'd both tired of pointless arguing and name calling.

"Probably midday?" he said "Having Matthias over again?"

"Yeah, I'll ask him to come over at about then then." He said, nodding.

"Fair enough." Emil nodded "Tell me when it's safe to come home. The last thing I want to come home to is the sound of you two doing that…"

"That's why I give you money for the coffee shop." Lukas continued to nod.

"Yeah, that's where I met Leon, he works there, because his parents own it." Emil told him "It's complicated but that's the gist of it, I think."

"Fair enough, he could be a lot worse, so let's be thankful for that…"

"Hey! I have taste, you know, Lukas!" Emil argued, hearing the exasperation in the other's voice.

"Yes, yes, whatever…"

"I do!"

"He was ten years older than you."

"Lukas, drop it! Just drop it! Why do you keep bringing this up every time I meet someone?!" Emil started getting more and more worked up, his face red hot with anger and pain. He'd loved Lars, a lot. When Lukas found out about it, there was nothing that could be done to fix it. Lukas lost a friend, and Emil lost a lover. Lukas couldn't stand the idea of his little brother being taken advantage of like that.

"Then just let me look after you a little! I don't want you making bad decisions like that ever again, Emil!" Lukas himself was getting more and more worked up about it.

"I don't want you to look after me! I can look after myself just fine!" Tears were starting to bead up and run down his pink face, shining on his skin "You know what! I'm going out, I can't stand your fucking face right now! I hate you!" He didn't mean his words. He was angry and worked up. He slammed the front door behind himself, and just walked away from the house, instantly regretting it.

Lukas would have chased after the other, but he didn't want to exacerbate the problem any further than he needed to. Emil would come back after he calmed down, and Lukas would make him some fish for dinner, and they'd talk about things with a clearer head. Yeah…

Emil wasn't looking where he was going, his eyes on the pavement, staring at his feet as they made progress walking along the wet brickwork pavement. It was meant to be summer, and the holidays too. Wasn't he meant to be happy at this point? Also, it was summer, so what was with the rain? He hardly questioned that so much, as it was England, and of course it would be raining.

As he was walking, he walked into someone, mumbling a "sorry" as he did.

"It's no problem." He heard the person say, before recognising their voice and looking up at them. The Dutchman was standing in front of him, glancing down at him, before noticing it was him "Hey…" Was all he said, before noticing Emil's tear streaked face "What happened?"

"I-it's nothing." He hiccoughed "Lukas and I were arguing. He's such a dick, he never thinks of me!" he cried, resting his head in the other's chest, letting Lars pull him into a hug.

Lars knew he wasn't meant to even look at Emil, but the guy was crying his eyes out, and in his eyes, there was no excuse for not trying to comfort him "I'm sure that's not true…" Lars told him carefully "When we were friends, all he would ever talk about was you, so he's got to care about you at least a bit."

"Bullshit. He doesn't care. He just wants to upset me, and make me feel like a little piece of shit!" Emil hugged Lars tightly "He only think about himself, and his own selfish needs!"

"Emil, I'm sure that's not how it is…" Lars tried to explain. He knew Lukas well, and knew that Lukas loved Emil to pieces, and told him how hard it was to try and be a good brother to him, when neither of them were good at talking to each other.

"It is! I'm not going back there! I don't want to see his stupid face ever again."

"And where will you go instead?" Lars asked him, concerned for the other's safety "Don't you dare try and run away to live on the street."

"Why not!?"

"Because that would be a stupid thing to do. You'd get sick, cold, wet, hungry, and trust me, Emil, you wouldn't survive a day."

"I've got no-where else to go…" Emil continued to cry.

Lars sighed. Geez, this guy was so hard to reason with when he was upset. He was so irrational like this. This was just difficult. He hated it when he got like this, because he wanted so much to just make him feel better, but at the same time, he was so worked up, that he didn't want to listen to reason. He wanted to be told that Lukas was a bad person, and was wrong, and Lars couldn't do that, because he didn't believe Lukas was a bad person "Why don't you stay with me… until you feel better?" he let out a sigh of exasperation. He didn't want to go against Lukas like that, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave Emil feeling like this.

Emil nodded slowly "Yeah, that'd be nice…" he said, looking at the other.

"Come on then, I've got to pick up some eggs, and bacon, I'm making omelette for dinner." He told the other, taking his hand, and walking with him to the shop.

"Sounds nice… aren't you going to put anything else in it though?" Emil asked thinking of just a bacon omelette. It wouldn't be so bad, but it would've been better with a couple of other ingredients.

"I've got some other things at home." He told him "Peppers, tomatoes, cheese, salt pepper what else does it need?"

"Sounds good to me." Emil nodded at him, as they walked into the shop, to pick up the items. It was a small newspaper shop, with just basics in it. It smelled of… something. He didn't know what, but it was just the smell of newsagents. There was a pick and mix in the corner, a rack with magazines, displaying partially naked women, and some fridges with drinks and basic food in. There were some biscuits on a shelf, and bread and other such good.

As they walked over to the counter, Emil noticed how his shoes tapped satisfyingly on the linoleum floor. It wasn't a particularly clean floor, but it wasn't grimy. If he dropped food on it, he'd throw it away, but he could walk bare foot on it, if he needed to.

After Lars paid, he walked out of the shop with Emil, and his food "How does your hair stay up..?" Emil mused quietly. It was raining, and his own hair was being slicked to his head, but Lars's hair was still styled to perfection, in that weird way he styled it.

"Magic~" he other joked, smirking "Nah, I just use a fuck tonne of hair gel, Emil."

"Doesn't that cost a load?" Emil asked him, thinking about how much hair gel Lars must've gotten through every year.

"That's why I buy it in bulk." Lars told him, nodding "It saves me a lot of money, and I get in good with the producers."

"Like number one customer?" Emil asked, interestedly.

"No, like I get loads of free trials, and shit like that." Lars told him as they reached his house "I should tell you I have a new bunny." Lars said, unlocking the door "He's pretty friendly."

"What's his name?" Emil asked, walking in, and taking his shoes off. He padded into the front room, seeing the new addition, and crouching to pet him.

"His name's Peter." Lars smiled, crouching beside him "Like Peter rabbit, also the neighbours have a son called Peter, so it's kind of funny."

Emil nodded smiling a bit "Sounds cool." He pet the bunny between the ears, his expression softening as he did. Lars smiled to himself. Bunnies always made people feel better. Who could resist the twitching noses, floppy ears, soft fur, and cute eyes?

"I'll go cook, I'll leave you in the company of Peter and Miffy." Lars said, standing up again.

Emil nodded watching the other walking into the kitchen, as he pet the small rodents. He cooed at them quietly using that voice he only used with small fluffy animals or his Pokémon on his 3DS. That feature with being able to interact with his Pokémon was one of his favourites.

A short while later, Lars walked out of the kitchen with two plates, and walked over to sit on the couch, patting the cushion beside him "Dinner is served." He told the white haired teen, who stood up from the floor carefully, and sat beside him on the couch, taking the plate of food, and starting to eat. The food was good, Emil had to admit that. It didn't look that promising, but it tasted just as it should have, in his opinion.

"So… where am I sleeping?" Emil asked after a while of silent eating.

"Where do you want to sleep, I guess?" Lars said, shrugging.

"Your bed's pretty comfy, isn't it…"Emil said sitting a little closer to the other. He'd missed Lars a lot. He'd missed being around him, and how his hugs felt and how his lips felt against his own. He'd missed the sex.

"Emil… do you think that's a good idea..?" Lars asked him "You know what your brother said…"

"Just once… for old time's sake." Emil said "I want to. I've missed you."

Lars sighed. He wished he could just say no to him, and not make things more complicated, but Emil was offering himself up, directly "Are you really sure..?" The Dutchman asked. Of course he wanted to do it. He still loved Emil a lot, even after all this time.

"Yeah, I want to." Emil said, placing his plate on the sofa, to move and straddle the other's lap, kissing him. Everything was forgotten, and had escaped his mind. Thoughts of Lukas disappeared, thoughts of Leon were gone; thoughts about collage were left behind. He wanted it. He wanted Lars.

And so the evening went on, and he was satisfied lying in the afterglow sleepily, Emil smiled at Lars "Do you still love me?" He asked, laying on his side.

"That is a big question to be asking me, this late in the evening." Lars mumbled "You knowwe can't be together, Emil, your brother…"

"Yeah, and there's a guy I met today and he seems nice…" Emil told him "He's called Leon. He's my age, and kinda cute…"

"That's pretty good." Lars said "Do you want to be with him?" He asked.

"I don't know… I think we're a thing, but it was very uncertain…" Emil said, feeling guilty now for having slept with Lars, when he and Leon had only just met, he'd just not thought of it.

"Fair enough…" Lars said. God, this was complicated. He loved Emil a lot, sure, but this relationship wouldn't be good for him. He needed to give Emil some direction, to make a choice. He wanted Emil and Lukas to stop fighting, and for Emil to get with someone his own age, and be in a healthy relationship, instead of something secret like this.

"Emil… I need to tell you something." Lars said slowly. He hated himself for saying this, because it would break Emil's heart into a million pieces, but it would make Lukas seem like the good guy, and Emil would finally be able to move on.

"What is it?" Why was it whenever someone said that to him, his stomach always tied itself into knots.

"I don't love you…" he started keeping his eyes looking into Emil's, no matter how much it hurt to lie to him "I never did… I was using you… for your body." He said, a burning guilt in his throat "Emil, I'm a pedophile."

"Y-you're joking right! That's so funny, ha ha." Emil said, nervousness being conveyed in his voice.

"No… it's true." Lars told him.

"Then why are you saying this now!?" Emil exclaimed, shuffling away from Lars quickly.

"Because I don't want to lie anymore." Lars told him, holding his gaze, his expression unchanging. He was breaking down inside, seeing the disgust and fear in Emil's face as he started to cry again.

"You bastard! I can't believe you! You used me! How can you live with yourself! How could you do this to me!? How could you do this!? All those times you were just lying! I thought I meant something to you! But no, I was just your sick perverted game, wasn't I!?" Emil was crying now, pulling on his clothes quickly "I hate you! I wish I never met you! You're a sick bastard, and I regret ever trusting you! I hope you rot in hell!" He stormed out of the house, starting to run back home, tears flowing down his hot face.

He didn't want to admit it, but Lukas was right. He should have trusted his judgment. This was awful. He felt so used so dirty he wanted to scrub his skin off to try and undo everything Lars did to him, every touch, he wanted to take back every loving word, every kiss, and every moan. He felt sick to his stomach.

Reaching his home he rang the doorbell frantically sobbing, and throwing himself into Lukas's arms as soon as the other opened the door, sobbing onto him , as the other closed the door, before putting his arms around him tightly, stroking his back, suddenly so, so concerned "Emil… what happened?" He asked, trying to get some sense out of the other.

"You were right about everything!" he sobbed "I hate him, I hate his guts! I never want anyone to touch me again!"

"E-emil, tell me what happened, right now." Lukas said, feeling a surge of shock and concern run through him, holding the other "What happened!?"

"He-he lied to me! He was using me for my body Lukas!" Emil sobbed.

"Lars!? Emil… what did you do..?" Lukas wished he'd never met Lars. He knew that guy was nothing but trouble to his little brother.

"I found him outside a shop," He told him, between hiccoughs "a-and he took me to his house, and made me something to eat, and then… I was so stupid! I shouldn't have trusted him!"

"You slept with him?" Lukas asked holding the other closer.

"Y-yeah… and then after… when I was lying next to him, he told me…" Emil continued to sob on him "He told me he wouldn't lie anymore. A-and that he never loved me! He used me, Lukas! I can't believe I let him do that!"

"It's okay…" Lukas told him, holding him closer, not even trying with the 'I-told-you-so's. It wouldn't make anything better.

"I-I just want to scrub my skin off, I feel so dirty Lukas!" he sobbed.

"It's okay, it's okay." Lukas told him quietly "Why don't we sit down, hm?" he asked, pulling away a little, to see his little brother's tear streaked, puffy red face nodding gently. Lukas led him over to the sofa, sitting beside him, and putting an arm around Emil, who was still crying, but had finally managed to calm down a little.

"I should have listened to you…" Emil told him, his voice little over a whisper "I should have listened to everything you said…"

"It's okay, Emil…" Lukas told him softly, stroking his hair gently "We all make mistakes. You needed to find out for yourself is all."

"Yeah… I guess…" Emil leaned against him.

"You know what happens to little brothers who are crying~?" Lukas said with a slight smirk on his face. He used to do this a lot when Emil cried as a child.

"No… Lukas don't…" Emil started shuffling away from him, trying to hold back a smile. That was when Lukas pounced on him, and started tickling him "Lukas! No!" Emil squealed, kicking his legs in protest, as he started laughing.

"Why would I stop now, when you're smiling so much~?" Lukas grinned back at Emil, still tickling him.

"Lukas stop, I'm gonna piss myself!" he squealed again, batting his hands away.

"Fine, fine~" Lukas smiled, pulling back from his brother.

"Revenge!" Emil pounced at his brother, returning fire on him, causing the other to squawk with laughter.

"Nooo!" he was grinning, flailing his legs about "Emil, no! I'll make you your favourite fish if you stop! And I'll buy you some liquorice too!"

Emil grinned at him "The good kind?"

"Of course the good kind, now stop tickling me!" Lukas begged.

Emil pulled back, grinning at his brother "Okay then, hop to it~" he said "We have some salmon in the fridge~"

Lukas sat up, smiling at the other glad to see him feeling better "Why don't you take a shower while I make it?" he asked.

"Sounds good."

Hello people! Happy end of chapter! That was pretty dramatic huh~ I'll write some more as soon as I have the time! I hope you enjoyed this! I know there was not much HongIce in this story but there was a lot of plot and other important things to be considered in it~

Question time!

Will Emil tell Leon, and if he does, how will Leon react?

Will that be the last we see of Lars?

What will happen when Emil meets Leon's family properly?

What do you guys actually think about Lars? (I think he's kind of controversial… I mean he's trying to be a good person, but still…)

What will Lukas do?


	3. Company

**I'm going to try and update more frequently! I've had a lot of exams, and drama happening recently, so progress has been slow! Anway, let's go with our new chapter!**

The next morning, Leon woke up coughing harshly. This wasn't uncommon for him at all, and he was more used to it than perhaps he should have been. It took him a few moment for him to get his breath enough to sit up and swing his legs down from the bed, so his feet hung just above his slippers. He took his inhaler with slightly trembling hands, before slipping out of bed, and walking into the kitchen for breakfast, his bare feet feeling the cool of the wooden floor beneath them.

Yong was already in there, as well as Arthur, but Mei and Yao were still sleeping, or at least in their bedrooms. This was how most mornings were though. Yao slept in as he usually stayed up late watching television and such. Mei was sleeping in because it was the summer holidays and there was no way that she'd pass off the opportunity.

A tired yawn escaped Leon's lips as he ambled around the kitchen and made himself some toast. Arthur watched him from the table, concern in his eyes and his brow "You've lost weight again, Leon…" he said, speaking in Cantonese as he knew that using English this early would be pointless. Arthur noticed the way the pyjamas hung on the teen, and how skinny Leon's legs seemed in the shorts he wore to bed. He had to worry about the boy who'd wake up coughing and gasping in the night and could hardly walk down the street without needing to rest.

"Yeah, I think so too." Leon said, glad that Arthur knew Cantonese. He took his toast out of the toaster, wincing a little as it was hot on his fingers, and putting some jam on it "Didn't you say you were going to get those weird drink things that are meant to help people put on weight?" he asked, walking over to the table and sitting down with his adopted father and brother.

"Aren't they for like athletes and stuff?" Yong asked "Like for muscle mass and whatever?"

"Technically, yes." Arthur nodded "But they have a lot of calories, and good nutrients in them, which is obviously helpful in this situation." Arthur told the teens before taking another sip of his tea, reading the morning paper, mumbling something about the stock market.

The Tea Lounge opened at 10AM, and so by that time, Leon had gotten dressed, styled his hair, and walked downstairs to the café below. He picked up the apron with his name on it, and pulled it on, tying a bow at the back with ease. He took a moment to fill his lungs with the coffee scented air, loving how it smelt, but not at all how it tasted. Mei was already down there, uncovering the cakes, and placing them in the display.

"So, how'd your  _date_  go?" she asked him in a mocking tone "It go well?" Mei honestly expected it to have gone less like a date, and more like a train wreck. She doubted this Emil guy was even gay, and if he was, she doubted he'd be interested in Leon. She didn't blame her brother for it, but he wasn't exactly what she would consider masculine.

"It went pretty well actually." He smiled a little, getting a dumb love-struck look on his face "He's such a nice guy; he kind of smells like fish, but I don't care." He told her, leaning against the counter and looking at her with a smug smile, as he knew she'd expected it to go badly, and to be honest, he'd been wary.

"You are so disgusting when you're in love…" she grimaced, disliking to see her brother acting like that "But like… did you kiss or what?"

Leon nodded at her "Totally did." He said, smiling even more, as if to say  _and you thought it could never be done!_

"Wow… I'm actually impressed!" she exclaimed, looking shocked, but happy for him, despite how gross she found the idea. She just found it weird to see her brother in love. It was a completely different side of him that she didn't really see often "Okay, first customer's here, I'm gonna go serve them, you can just stay minding the till again." She told him, walking over to the customer's table, switching to English to speak to them.

Leon remained sat at the till, just taking in his surroundings. The air smelled like rich coffee, and cakes; the mismatched tables and chairs were endearing, and the art on the wall was probably cheap, but it suited the atmosphere of the café. He noticed that the floor was immaculately cleaned, as someone had obviously mopped it the night before, but by the end of the day it'd be grubby again from all the people mulling around and treading their dirt all over the place.

During the day people came and left the cafe, chattering as they did, drinking tea or coffee, maybe eating cake or a toasted sandwich. Leon took their bills mostly, not doing much else. He got paid for doing it, which was always cool. He'd wanted to wait tables, but he found it tiring, and his English was still lacking, so he settled for just minding the till, that was until Emil walked in.

True to his word, Emil walked into the Tea Lounge at midday, and Leon walked over to serve him, Emil being the only person he served, which Mei said was very unprofessional "Good afternoon, Emil." He greeted him in a friendly way, leaning against the table a little for support, though trying to make it look casual.

"Good afternoon, Leon, I'd like my regular please." Emil said, with a slight smile. He didn't feel much like smiling, but he did anyway for Leon's sake. He'd been thinking a lot as to whether he should tell Leon about Lars, but he decided not to. The Asian seemed too fragile, and had too many other things that he needed to worry about. Emil did feel a little guilty for this, but it was for the best, and it wasn't like he'd ever talk to the Dutchman again. And anyway, he just wanted to see Leon happy at the moment, there was something rewarding about seeing the other teen's lips pulled into a smile.

Leon nodded, walking away again, to make the 'coffee'. His hips swayed a little teasingly as he did, making Emil wonder if he was walking like that on purpose, or if he just had an attractive walk. The white haired teen pulled out his laptop from his backpack, and placed it on his table. He'd sat in a corner, so people couldn't see his screen. He wasn't doing anything indecent, he just didn't want people seeing him playing StarCraft alone at a café like some kind of loner… Something he wasn't aware of was that the person who'd recently been repeatedly kicking his ass in this game was Leon's brother, Yong.

Leon had been told, when he'd said to Arthur about it, that Emil's brother Lukas had told the staff that when Emil ordered coffee, he meant hot chocolate, and to not make a point of it. Leon was kind of amazed at the coincidence that he'd made a hot chocolate for him, without actually being told to the first time. He guessed that it was more coincidence than anything.

By the time Emil had logged on, Leon was back with his 'coffee', placing it down on the table with slightly trembling hands. Emil didn't point it out, not wanting to be rude. Leon probably couldn't help it "Thanks, Leon." He smiled a little at him, from behind his laptop. Emil didn't usually smile at people by choice, but he just wanted to be nice to Leon. The poor guy always looked exhausted and gaunt, and yet still somehow adorable when he smiled. Leon had dimples, but they were only visible when he smiled.

"Welcome." Leon nodded, staying a little longer than absolutely necessary to say "I finish working in one hour." He sounded hopeful as he said it, lingering at the table like a bird about to fly. He was leaning on the table lightly, but ready to leave as soon as he needed to.

"Is that an invitation?" Emil asked, smirking at him playfully.

"It could be." Leon smirked back a little, his chest rising and falling quickly with each breath. Emil always made him a little nervous, making his heart beat faster in his chest, and making him breathe faster, and start to wheeze. It was a curse really, as any attempt to be smooth around him was thwarted.

"Inhaler?" Emil suggested, noticing Leon starting to wheeze. It was kind of a mood killer, to be honest, but he wanted to be patient with him. It wasn't his fault, now was it?

"Yeah." Leon pulled it out of his pocket quickly, and took it, breathing in sharply as he did, trying not to cough the spray straight back out. He didn't like keeping it in his pocket because it ruined the line of his jeans, but he always got told off if he didn't "Anyway. You want to be a visit?" Leon asked him with a hopeful smile on his face.

"Be a vis- Oh you want me to come over to your place?" Emil asked. He'd really need Leon to improve his English, as it was hard as hell to understand him like this.

"Yeah, if you are wanting to." Leon nodded hopefully, tucking his inhaler back into his jeans pocket, frowning for a brief moment, because it ruined the shape and looked stupid. Obviously, he had his priorities in the right place. The way his clothes looked was just  _so_  much more important than his health… Priorities…

"I guess so." Emil told him, trying to act cool around him, and not seem too excited to quickly "I'll just text my brother, okay?"

Leon nodded, before noticing Mei frowning over at him from behind the till, mouthing at him to get back to where he was meant to be, and stop flirting "I have to till now." He said, pointing to the till "Meet there in one hour, okay?" he asked, just to make sure he was right in what he was saying.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll meet you there then." Emil nodded to him, before watching him walk away. His legs looked so slim; Emil kind of wondered how he walked around on them without snapping like a twig, but somehow he managed. Then again, the Asian tired easily, and was probably very weak, and had proved himself to be rather frail, even at his youthful age.

Leon sat at the till again, taking people's bills and daydreaming adolescent fantasies about all the things Emil could do to him when he wasn't serving customers. He really doubted Emil would want to do that kind of thing, and he didn't really know if he'd be okay showing his body to the other in real life. He was beyond scrawny, his bones prominently showing beneath his skin, and hardly any muscle at all. His tan was mostly faded from spending so much time indoors, and from being ill, so it had a sickly and almost translucent look to it.

He enjoyed the atmosphere here though. It was quietly bustling, with laughter, gossip, friendships, and romance; all in one room, drenched in the smell of coffee and cakes. He leant his elbow on the table, propping his cheek up on the heel of his hand. Occasionally he needed to work the cash register, but usually he could just watch everything, and daydream. Emil's house smelt a little of coffee too…

Leon wondered what Emil was doing on his laptop in the coffee shop all the time, and why he always drank hot chocolate thinking it was coffee. It  _was_  adorable though, to be honest. It was like he was trying to be a big adult man, but he had no idea how to be one, which was incredibly endearing in Leon's opinion. He'd mention it, but he had the feeling that there wouldn't be much to gain from telling the Icelander that his 'coffee' was actually hot chocolate and that everyone had been lying to him. It'd also be pretty mean to let him down like that.

After he got off his shift, he walked back over to Emil, smiling a little as he did "So, you want to be visitor?" he asked, leaning against the table again and looking at him hopefully.

"Well, that was the plan." Emil told him, putting his laptop away, smiling a little. He didn't really feel like smiling after what happened, and he didn't really feel like being intimate today, but he still wanted to spend some time getting to know Leon a little more, so there wasn't a reason to turn down the other's request.

Leon smiled a little more "Okay, so let's go." He told him putting a hand out for the other to take. Emil gingerly took Leon's hand, not sure if he really wanted the affection, but not wanting to seem like he was rejecting the other. Even Leon's hands felt kind of weak when held in his own. He swore he could feel each of the bones in his hand. Emil didn't say anything, again thinking it'd be rude, and probably something the other was self-conscious about.

Leon led Emil up the stairs to the part of the house they lived in, and didn't use as the tea lounge. He took a moment to get his breath and take his inhaler at the top of the stairs, before walking into his bedroom. He sat on his bed, patting the space beside himself for Emil to sit down in "So this is my room." He said, as a kind of introduction to the space.

Emil looked around himself. The room was surprisingly normal. He didn't know why, but he expected there to be shelves full of medication, and for the room to look really hospital like, but it didn't, and he was pretty glad of that, as it'd be kind of a grim way to live. Leon had a TV on his wall, connected up to a couple of consoles, and a computer on a desk in the corner. He had shelves full of games, and dvds, most of which were in Chinese. He also had a lot of figurines and posters, and a shelf full of rubber ducks for some reason.

"It's a nice room." Emil finally said after looking around, having sat on the other's bed. The mattress was really soft. It must have been great to sleep on.

"Yeah." He nodded "It more big than Hong Kong." He told him, his English still broken, and hard to understand, but he was really trying. Arthur said he'd get Leon a tutor before he started going to college so that he'd be able to understand things better there. Arthur and Yao were always keen to push Leon to do the best he could in his circumstances, firmly believing that he could still achieve whatever he wanted to in life.

"So you had a small room back there?" Emil questioned, assuming that that was the meaning of what Leon was saying. He didn't want to be rude, but it was so hard to tell what he was saying a lot of the time. It wasn't the other's fault for not having English as a first language, but it just meant that communication was slow.

"Yeah." He nodded "Small. Like…hmmm… Half this room size." Leon told him, trying to show him with arm gestures, as if he was cutting his room into two.

Emil nodded, acting more interested than perhaps he was. Talking to Leon was slow, and it wasn't always all that scintillating, and it left a few things to be desired, but he was still polite about it. They spoke about Hong Kong, and they spoke about Iceland. Emil spoke about his brother and his brother's boyfriend, and why he always came to the coffee shop. Leon told Emil about Yong, who was always gaming in his room, and Mei who thought he'd not be able to get a date.

Eventually Leon grew tired and laid down on the bed, putting his arms out for Emil to cuddle with him. Emil laid down beside him, accepting the hug. He was more rigid and uncomfortable than the day before though, and Leon looked a little confused at that "Hey… is somethings wrong?" he asked him "Am I bad?"

"It's nothing…" Emil said, hoping he could just leave it at that, not wanting to go into the details of it all with him. He just wanted to forget about Lars, and not ever let anyone touch him again. He still felt disgusting, and used and dirty and all sorts of wrong.

"Doesn't seem like…" Leon frowned, looking at him with a more serious expression "Do you… not want us?" he asked him "We can stop… if your want…"

"No no, it's not that." Emil said quickly "I really like you, Leon, I really do." He said.

"I'm too sick… aren't I…" Leon said slowly, looking dejected, and rather disheartened. He rolled over, not wanting to look at him "Ugh… I'm dumb…"

"No no, it's not that!" Emil repeated, this time more insistently, placing a hand on the Asian's shoulder "I just don't feel like it today, it's nothing else." He said "I got reminded of something bad, and it kind of put me out of the mood a bit. I still like you, I promise."

Leon turned to look at him again, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but also concern "What you remind of?" he asked him with a concerned voice "Did someone…  _do_ things to you…?" he asked him slowly, looking genuinely scared for him.

"No… I…" Emil really didn't want to talk about it with him. It was so hard to talk about, and he just wanted to cry when he thought about it "I just…. I thought I could trust someone, but I couldn't…" he said, trying to stay vague "Now I just feel… weird."

"Okay." Leon nodded "I won't push." He said, smiling at him gently, keeping a little bit of distance from him, so they didn't have to touch, though he put his hand out for Emil's, so that maybe they could still hold hands, but only if Emil wanted to.

By the end of the day, Leon had fallen asleep holding Emil's hands, and Emil lay beside him, not sleeping, but kind of zoned out. He brushed Leon's hair out of his face gently. He hated how the other sounded when he was breathing, and he hated how thin the other looked. It made him feel like he could just break if he fell over, or he'd just stop breathing suddenly, and that'd be it.

Still, Leon looked more peaceful when he slept. His brow was more relaxed, and his face appeared younger for some reason. Emil stroked his face gently, feeling the other's gaunt features "Oh Leon…" he spoke quietly, barely a whisper "It's not fair… It's really not…" he said.

A little while later, he needed to go home again, but Leon was still sleeping. He didn't really want to just  _leave_  the other, but waking him up seemed really cruel. He decided to just be cool and leave a note for him that read:

_Leon,_

_You were kind of sleeping when I needed to leave, and I didn't want to wake you, so I just kind of went home, hope you don't mind much. I'll be at the tea lounge tomorrow, probably at the same time, so you'll see me soon. I don't really know how to end this, so uh… see ya._

That'd do. He left the note on the bed side table, and left, walking himself home along the familiar streets. As it was now the evening, the summer heat was a little milder now, and a lot more bearable.

**Chapter 3 finally done! Wow, I never thought I'd get this out, but it just goes to show what you can do if you put your mind to it! Please leave a review if you like this story, as reviews really encourage me to write more, and without them I kind of lose a lot of motivation. Honestly, it makes my day!**


	4. A day out

**Woah! Chapter 4! Yeah, I'm losing a bit of motivation with my fic writing, mostly because of how little time I have on my hands these days, but also because I don't get any reviews, and it feels like I'm writing to a bunch of crickets! I still enjoy writing though, and that's why I still do it, I guess!**

Over the next few weeks, Emil and Leon fell into a routine. Emil would visit the tea lounge at around midday, where he'd get his 'coffee' and play minecraft, while Leon took customer's bills. Then they'd go upstairs to Leon's room to hang out, and chat, or play games. Emil tried to teach Leon some better English, and it wasn't going terribly. In a couple of weeks he was using grammar better, and his pronunciation was better too.

Emil still felt disgusting, and used, not wanting to be touched much, but the white hot emotion that there once was on the subject of Lars was slowly turning to just red hot. He'd cuddle with Leon when he was tired, and not feel so weird about it like he did before, and he could kiss him too, sometimes.

Today though, Emil was taking Leon on a picnic with his family. He wanted Leon to meet Tino and Berwald. Tino was his and Lukas's cousin, and Berwald was Tino's partner. Leon had already met Matthias, as he'd come to the tea lounge occasionally with Lukas to get some coffee, and tease Emil about his boyfriend.

Leon spent a long time scrutinising himself in the mirror on the morning of the picnic. He looked tired and sick, and it frustrated him to hell and back. Oh what he'd do for a good night's sleep, and some fat on his face, so he'd look less gaunt. He tried borrowing some of Mei's concealer, to attempt to make himself look less tired, and it'd worked to a certain extent.

After picking out his clothes, inspecting himself in them, and styling his hair, Leon finally felt like he looked passable. Reluctantly, he tucked his inhaler into his pocket and frowned. The inhaler ruined the line of his jeans, but he didn't really get a choice. If he didn't have it with him, he'd probably end up passing out, gasping for air.

He walked into Mei's room to return the concealer to her "Do I look okay?" he asked her, speaking in Cantonese, and looking a little worried "His cousin and his cousin's partner are gonna be there, and I look like I'm dying…" he said, frowning at her.

"Aw, Leon…" She said, making a sad noise "Of course you look okay. You don't look nearly as bad as you think you do, honestly you don't. Anyway, I really doubt they'll be  _that_  interested in how you look. They'll just want you to be nice to their cousin or whatever."

"If you say so." He said, leaning against her bedroom wall gently "Ugh, I feel like such a hassle all the time, y'know? Everyone is going out of their way all the time just for me, and I can't do anything to pay them back, and it really sucks."

Mei let out a sigh, before pulling him into a gentle hug. Seeing him getting all depressed over things was just upsetting. She knew he couldn't help it, and what he was saying was technically right, but people only helped him because they wanted to, and she didn't want him to feel guilty over it. She pet his hair "You're not a hassle, dear." She began to say "It's not your fault that you have these problems, you know that. You're doing everything you can, and you don't owe anyone anything."

Leon hugged her back, letting her take a little of his weight "I'm also kind of worried about Emil though…" he said "I mean I didn't think about it before, but I'm kind of like… hard work for him, y'know? I feel like he'd be happier with someone else who's healthier, and can do more things… I feel like I'm tying him down…"

"Oh hush, Emil knows what he's getting himself into." She told him, continuing to stroke his hair "Don't you let yourself start feeling guilty for being happy with someone. You deserve so much more than you get, Leon, you really do." She said, holding him close. Leon was certainly not blessed. He'd never had much of an easy life. She felt like he'd been cheated out of his youth, by the illness, and by the medication.

"I guess I'll just take your word for it." He said, nodding slowly, and pulling away from the hug "I should go. I said I'd wait in the café for them so I don't keep them waiting." He told her "Do my clothes look okay?"

"Fair enough." She nodded "And your clothes look absolutely fine, Leon. You look absolutely great. Just have some fun, okay?"

Leon nodded, and headed down into the café, noticing Yao stood at the till, doing the job he usually did. He noticed a look of doubt and worry on the man's face "What's up?" he asked him curiously.

"I- just…" The man hesitated for a few moments "Are you sure you'll be alright?" he asked him, sounding concerned "Are you sure you can handle it?" Yao asked, stroking Leon's arm gently "I don't want you pushing yourself after you've been doing so well, you know..?" He was scared that Leon would pick up some kind of bug, or get a cold, and get put in hospital again because of it, and then it'd be his own fault for having let the boy go out in the first place.

"I'll be fine, I promise." Leon told him "I haven't been ill since we came here, and if it really will make you feel better, I'll wear one of those dumb mask things, just to be safe." He said, trying to assure the man that he'd be okay, not wanting to disappoint Emil and his family, who were expecting him.

"I'll get one from the kitchen for you then." Yao nodded, thinking that that was a decent compromise.

"Can't I wear one of the nice ones..?" he asked, frowning "I want to make a good impression, and the other ones are so… ugh.."

"You need to use up the other ones first. I bought a big pack and I don't want you using the new ones until the old pack is all finished." Yao told him, frowning "I don't approve of those masks anyway…" he huffed "You shouldn't be decorating your illness with bells and whistles."

"I don't approve of walking around like a charity case." He huffed "Please, I'll wear the regular masks when I start college, I just want to make a good impression on his family…"

"Hmm…" Yao thought for a few moments, before pretending to think for another minute, just to get across the message that this was something that needed to be thought about at great length. He wanted to make sure Leon knew that he could easily just say no "I  _suppose_  I could let you use one just this once, so long as you promise to use the other ones after."

Leon nodded "Thanks." He smiled a bit "They're in my room, in that cool box, can you get one from me. I don't really mind which." He told him.

Yao nodded, rolling his eyes and jogging up to the boy's room, getting the mask on the top of the pile in the box, as well as some hand sanitizer, and taking it down to him "Is this good?" he asked him, holding up the mask, as he tucked the little bottle of sanitizer into the boy's pocket.

"Thanks." He said, nodding, and looking at the mask. It was black, and had the jaws of a skeleton on it, and he thought that it looked pretty cool "I don't need the sanitizer though…" he said frowning, and trying to hand the bottle back to Yao.

"No, keep it." The man insisted "I don't like the idea of your hands getting dirty, then getting near your face…" he frowned "Just use it, okay?"

"Fine fine…" Leon huffed, tucking the bottle back into his pocket, so the man would worry less.

"Oh Leon…" Yao whined a little dramatically "I'll worry about you the whole time you're gone, you know…" he told him "What if you can't breathe, or you get too cold? What if they didn't wash their hands when they prepared your food? What if you collapse!?" Yao was letting himself get a little worked up, wanting to make the boy feel a little guilty for making him worry.

"I'll be fine. Trust me. I'll wear the mask, and use the sanitizer, and I have my inhaler. I'll be fine.  _Please_  stop worrying about me…" he said to the man, frowning with a serious expression "I'll be just fine. That's a promise."

"Okay…" Yao said slowly, allowing the boy this privilege "You should wait where you can see them then." He told him "Take a seat by the window."

Leon nodded and walked over to sit in one of the chairs by the window. He took his inhaler to get his breath, some of it taken from just nervousness alone. He sat with a glass of water, and a heavy feeling of doubt as he waited for them to pull up outside. What if they got stuck in traffic? What if they called it off? What if one of them got sick? What if the car broke down? His mind was overtaken with worry… until he saw the car pull up at just the time they said they would.

He put the mask on before stepping outside, and walking over to the car, getting inside the people carrier, and sitting right at the back of the vehicle with Emil. The white haired teen's family greeted him, sounding pretty friendly. Tino and Berwald were sat at the front of the car. In the middle were Lukas, Matthias, Peter and his dog, Hana.

Leon greeted them in return, glad to just be coming along with them. He tentatively took Emil's hand as they sat together, smiling as the other intertwined his fingers with Leon's own.

"I'm glad you could come." Emil told him, smiling a bit "It'll be nice not to be the sixth wheel for a change." He told him, earning a comment about being antisocial by Lukas.

"Yeah," he started, irritated by how awkward talking behind the mask felt "Yao almost is not let me come." He told the other, listening to him when his English was corrected, a habit Emil had gotten into "He is scared I get sick." Again Emil corrected him.

Emil nodded "Yeah, I guess if you get sick it's probably pretty bad, right?"

"Yeah, I get sick bad and have to hospital." Leon told him, frowning a bit, and huffing "I have masks now." He told him, gesturing to the mask that covered his nose and mouth "So I am not sick."

"Fair enough." Emil nodded, looking at the mask more carefully now, noticing how it hooked behind the other's ears "I like the scull." He told him, smiling a bit "It looks really cool and stuff."

Leon smiled at the compliment, though it was hard for the other to see "Yeah, it cool." He said "I buy on computer." He said to the other, smiling a little even though Emil couldn't see that he was "I think it more fun this way."

"Yeah." Emil nodded "It's really cool and stuff, and it's like way more fun than just a boring mask and stuff." He said "I mean some people wear those just as like a fashion statement, y'know?"

Leon nodded, listening to him, and looking out of the window "I have not seen out much." He told the other. He'd moved here a month ago now, but still hadn't seen much. Arthur had been living here for a while, and when the tea lounge was earning enough money, he paid for the others to come to live here too. Yao hadn't wanted to leave, but the city air kept making Leon sick, and so he left Hong Kong for his sake.

"You parents don't take you out much?" he asked, frowning "That's kind of a shame." He said "Lukas is always making me do stuff with him."

"You make it sound like I  _force_  you into spending time with me, jeez. If you didn't like it, you'd move back to Oslo with our parents." Lukas said, looking back at him in a way that said 'I'm listening to your conversation, careful what you say.'

Emil rolled his eyes "Okay okay…" he said, huffing a little "Lukas always takes me out to do stuff… Better?"

"Your tone is still sullen, but it's passable." Lukas just said, rolling his eyes "I spoil you too much, I think." He told him "You don't know how good you have it."

Emil rolled his eyes again. The brothers seemed to do this a lot when talking to each other " _Anyway_ ," he started, looking back at Leon "Why don't your parents take you out more?"

Leon shrugged his shoulders, before answering "They work." Since Yao had brought Mei, Yong Soo, and him from Hong Kong, he'd been busy just getting everything sorted out, and helping Arthur with the tea lounge. Before then, Yao didn't have Arthur's help nearly as often, so they didn't go out and do much.

"Yeah… mine do too…" he said, frowning a little "But that's why I'm glad I have Lukas to do stuff like this with." He told him, earning a smug smile from his brother who just enjoyed having his ego stroked.

"Yong play starcraft with me sometime?" he suggested. None of his siblings were really old enough to take him out to do things like that, except Lau, but he was studying in Macau, so they only got to talk over the internet on weekends when Lau could stay up late, and not have to face the consequences the next day.

"Oh, that's cool." Emil nodded "I play it sometimes." He said. Okay, so he played it l most days, but that wasn't the point. There was this really obnoxious guy on there that kept beating him, and he wouldn't give up until he won one game against him.

Leon nodded "I can never beat my brother." He told him, kind of impressed when he said the sentence in a completely grammatically correct way "He is too good, and I is… am not?" he tried to correct himself, because he'd heard Emil correcting him in that way before.

Emil smiled, nodding "You're getting there." He said "When we first met talking to you was like solving riddles." He said, laughing a little to himself "But yeah, your brother's the guy who walked in to ask if I wanted to stay for dinner the other night, right?" he asked, hoping he was right.

"Yeah, that Yong." Leon nodded "He's…. I don't know how to say…" The teen thought for a few moments about how best to describe his brother "Interest…ing."

"Yeah, I think brothers are meant to be." He said, making Leon laugh a little as he did, and getting a sarcastic comment from Lukas.

After a little while longer, they arrived at the nature park where they were going to have their picnic. Leon was worried that he'd have to walk a lot, and that he wouldn't be able to, and that either he'd hold the whole group up, or he'd end up embarrassing himself in front of everyone, and seeming like he couldn't do the easiest things.

When they got out of the car though, Matthias pulled out a smallish wagon. It had the cool box in, as well as the picnic blankets, some fold up chairs, and some snuggies for some reason "Hey, Emil said you're not so good with walking and stuff, so you wanna ride on the wagon?" he asked him with a smile "I'm strong, so don't worry about weighing me down~" The Dane said, flexing his arms dramatically to try to make him laugh.

Relief swept over him. He wouldn't have to walk, or embarrass himself. Leon nodded at the Dane, sitting on the wagon, on top of the blanket and snuggies "This okay?" he asked him, from the wagon. Matthias nodded at him, still grinning. He started talking to Lukas after that as he pulled along the wagon with ease.

"Your family is nice." Leon said, smiling up at Emil who was walking along beside the wagon, so he could continue to talk to Leon.

"Yeah, they are." He nodded "Tino and Berwald are really nice too, but they have to keep an eye on Peter, otherwise they'd talk to you more." He told Leon, shrugging a little "He ran off out of the car, so they kind of had to chase him down and show him where to go."

Leon nodded "Yong is like that." He said "When he is little."

"Was." He said correcting the other "And fair enough. I guess your parents had to run after him a lot, huh?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

They continued to chat for a while, as Matthias pulled Leon along, and Emil walked beside him. Eventually they reached the agreed site for the picnic. It was beside a large lake, but not too close. Leon got off of the wagon, and let Matthias put the blanket out, and the foldout chairs and table on the blanket. Lukas took out the cool box, and started putting various different foods and drinks on the table, telling Emil off for trying to take a bottle of cola out before he was done setting out the table.

He'd been so paranoid about what Emil's family would think of him, that he'd forgotten that maybe they'd be like him, and just accept him as he was. He could feel himself smiling naturally and laughing around them, his mask tucked under his chin while he ate.

Eventually, when the conversation naturally led to it, Emil's family ended up asking Leon a few questions, nothing too invasive though. They asked him about Hong Kong, and about the tea lounge. They teased Emil and him about how cute they were together. Peter entertained them all with a long and drawn out story which he acted out about dramatically.

When Leon started to get cold, shivering a little, Matthias came over to him "Hey, you okay? You look frozen, you want a snuggie?" he asked him.

Leon looked reluctant about it, not wanting to be the only one wearing one. He didn't want to have to act differently because of his illness, and draw attention to it.

Matthias noticed this though "Hey, don't look so worried about it, buddy. I'll wear one too, then we can be snuggie buddies, how about it?" he asked him, grinning as usual "We can be all warm while everyone else shivers~" he joked, making Leon laugh a little.

"Okay." He nodded "That sound good."

The Dane nodded, taking a couple of snuggies out of the wagon, and putting one over Leon, before putting one on himself "Anyone else want a snuggie?" he asked, dancing around in his own just for fun "Because I look fabulous~"

"I want one!" Peter declared "Give me one, Matthias!"

Matthias laughed, throwing one over the boy with a laugh "There you go, little man~"

They stayed out at the park, eating and chatting, and laughing and watching the sun set. Peter, Leon, and Berwald fell asleep, but the others just stayed awake, talking, and drinking beer when the food ran out.

Eventually the time came for them to pack up, and Emil slowly woke Leon up, while "Hey, wake up Leon." He said gently "We have to go now, it's getting late." He said.

Leon's eyes slowly opened, looking at him hazily. He was too sleepy for English, but was very suggestible when Emil led him to sit on the wagon, then to get into the car afterwards.

Matthias didn't bother to wake Peter, but carried him to the car, but made Berwald pull the wagon along for falling asleep. The Swede didn't complain, and just tiredly pulled the wagon to the car.

Yao was waiting by the window in the tea lounge when they pulled up. Emil helped Leon out of the car, and walked him into the lounge where Yao was waiting for him "Thank you." The Chinese man said, smiling at the Icelander "Have a good night."

Emil nodded, and walked back out to the car to his family. He'd come and visit Leon tomorrow.

**And that was Chapter 4 thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please go ahead and tell me, because honestly it means the world to me, and if you have any suggestions or comments to make, again, I'd love to hear them!**

**Question time!**

**Will Emil ever find out that it's Yong who's been beating him in Starcraft this whole time?**

**Is Matthias the nicest guy ever, or what?**

**Will Emil's family take Leon on more outings?**

**Will Yao ever stop being a protective mother hen?**

**What will happen when they start college (British college, not American, considering I know next to nothing about the American education system)**

 


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